


Duty

by AzuraJae



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Character Study, Duty, Everyone else is only supporting details, Friendship, Gen, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, Re:Mind Spoilers, Sora-centric (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23606272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzuraJae/pseuds/AzuraJae
Summary: There had always been an odd feeling at the back of Sora’s mind, ever since his home had been swallowed by the darkness that one fateful day. They were like eyes of some sort of primal animal stalking him through the darkness. A pressing, urgent, heavy feeling, weighing down his entire being sometimes. Sora could only describe it like his body was being dragged down underwater or something; sometimes if the feeling was so strong, he forgot to breathe.Oh. He thought to himself.It was duty.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Duty

**Author's Note:**

> A character study I did after a long break of not really writing anything. I am really invested in Sora's development in KH3. I know that many people thought that Sora was a bit of a dingleberry this game, and he was, but I feel like there was more to it than Sora simply being an idiot. So I did this sort of character study as a break from everything. It was quite fun to write, I hope anyone who reads this enjoys.

There had always been an odd feeling at the back of Sora’s mind, ever since his home had been swallowed by the darkness that one fateful day. They were like eyes of some sort of primal animal stalking him through the darkness. A pressing, urgent, heavy feeling, weighing down his entire being sometimes. Sora could only describe it like his body was being dragged down underwater or something; sometimes if the feeling was so strong, he forgot to breathe. 

But it was okay, Sora could always keep trudging through as always. As long as he had a smile on his face and his head held high, he would always pull through. Trying to shove aside such a suffocating feeling, so long as he had the strength to go on, then things would always work themselves out. They always seem to do.

At least, that was what Sora had thought until he took his Mark of Mastery exam.

For the first time in his life, bulldozing his way through an adventure didn’t work. In fact, the fact that he did charge forward seemed to throw him further into the pit of despair. He almost fell into the clutches of Xehanort because he had stubbornly pressed on instead of thinking and turning back. If Riku hadn’t braved the darkness to save him, Sora was sure he would’ve been lost.

That horrible feeling came back in full force. But instead of the eyes of some predator like it did before, the feeling took the form of one haggard, accusatory finger that pointed at him with malice, one that seemed to pierce through his entire being.

He had tried to remain hopeful, strong, like he always did. But the battle and that experience had drained him. When Yen Sid had told him that only Riku passed, it was like someone turned on a switch on the back of his mind.

 _Oh._ He thought to himself in the quiet moment before anyone said anything.

_It was duty._

Before Sora was overwhelmed with the realization, he snagged Riku by the shoulder. “I knew you would pass, Riku!”

He tried to ignore Goofy’s comment about him acting like he had passed his. He couldn’t be sad, not now. There was so much at stake. He had to fulfill the duty laid out for him. In addition to the crushing duty, there was a sort of different kind of hurt in his heart. This time, it did not take long for Sora to figure out what that feeling was guilt.

The tingling sense of pressure and guilt made him want to take some time by himself, where he comforted himself among his colorful, faithful, and adorable Dream Eaters. The sight of them seemed to eat away at this growing pit of anxiety that he felt started to pool in the recesses of his mind. 

At least for a while anyway.

When Sora had returned to Yen Sid, he thought that he was prepared to face the music. He liked to think that he had adopted his usual smile and took what Yen Sid said about his loss of power in a stride, but when Pete and Maleficent, villians that always took him as a force to be reckoned with in the past, poked fun at him, calling him weak, Sora realized that he was more affected that what he had let on, even to himself. Perhaps he had wanted to pretend that everything was alright, if he kept pushing forward...

“Don’t worry.” He said, turning to Donald and Goofy in a voice he didn’t believe in himself. “I can take it.”

It seems the guilt and pressure of failing the exam at such a crucial moment had affected him more than he initially thought. These dark thoughts seem to haunt the back of his mind. There was just so much to do. 

_You are the one who will open the door._

Sora recalled those words from long ago, from when his adventure was just starting... but why do those words seem like such a curse now? 

You _have_ to bring back Roxas.

You _have_ to bring back Namine.

You _have_ to save Aqua.

You _have_ to wake Ventus. 

You _have_ to find Terra.

You _have_ to defeat Xehanort. 

_You_ are the one who will have to open the door.

Each time those thoughts raced his mind, Sora felt that finger sink deeper and deeper through his chest. He wondered if it would stab through his heart given time.

He knew that Donald, Goofy, and his friends meant well, but sometimes those words seemed to prod feelings that he wasn’t aware hurt so much. They were his friends, Sora couldn’t really get mad at them because what they said was true, but…

“That’s right!” he crossly shouted, the prickling heaviness was crawling on his skin like tendrils when he heard the laughter of his friends. He was getting frustrated. “Laugh it up!”

Duty. Duty. Duty. So many things to do; have to do them.. Heavy, it was so heavy. No time for self pity, Sora has to go on.

While traveling alongside Goofy and Donald had always been fun and interesting, Sora felt like he was being slowly chained. Every time he was having fun, or maybe taking a bit of leisure time, a little voice tickled the back of his mind.

_Should you really be having fun when so much is at stake?_

It choked him up inside.

There was so much at stake. It seemed that everyone had and was doing well except him. Everyone had a job, what was he doing monkeying around? He had to keep his head held high, a smile on his face, but it was hard now. So hard.

He was getting a little tired.

Hanging out with Kairi before the whole battle made him feel a lot better. Kairi had that sort of effect on him. She had nothing but pure support for him. At that moment, he thought that he had finally found his bearings and was ready to face the thunder. The storm cloud that was Xehanort.

Turns out he was not.

You _have_ to protect everyone.

The grating words reverberated around his heart. He tried, he had to. But…

When Sora watched Kairi, the person who had always unconditionally believed and supported him, taken away by the wave of darkness, Sora felt something in his snap.

 _How could you?_ The voice inside his head accused. _You were supposed to protect everyone. You were supposed to protect her._

It was as if the web of everything he had in this adventure had finally collapsed. 

When he screamed that time, it was real. The pain and pressure he was feeling all this time, he was frustrated and sad. Crushed. Broken. _I’m tired._

The weight of everything came crashing down, suffocating and burying him in a mass of guilt and pain. That finger finally pierced his heart. He was being choked to death. Not even Riku, his dear best friend, was able to pick him back up.

“It’s over.”

“I know you don’t believe that.”

Sora lifelessly watched Riku defend him. Everything in him screamed for him to get up. To take out his keyblade and fight to the last breath alongside his best friend. But he couldn’t move. The weight on his heart was too much, Sora couldn’t even defend himself with the swarm of heartless people that came to take him too.

It was then that Sora found himself in pieces, conceptually of course.

For the first time in his life, Sora felt somewhat liberated? Although he knew that he wasn’t meant to be here yet, in the Final World, a place where the sea met the sky, it felt comfortable and safe here. For a single moment, Sora wondered what would happen if he would just wait out life here.

But he then heard from Namine that Kairi had kept him together and was waiting for him.

And all in that single second, Sora found that the pressure had all yet returned, but there was this newer invigorating feeling. It was like the experience of being in the darkest pits numbed his senses. When he had met the quiet, comforting voice of a star who lost their name, Sora confided a bit in her. There was still a heavy feeling, but Sora found the newfound strength to stand up.

Alas, the pressure and guilt was still there. But he had no time to pity himself. His sense of duty became stronger than the feeling he had.

He had let himself and everyone else down once. He wouldn’t let that happen again.

He wouldn’t.

He couldn’t.

With this newfound strength, Sora found himself bringing everyone back to the brink of death, rewinding time and resetting them back to a time where they could try again. He found Kairi again, which made the heavy feeling falter a bit before a new onset of determination came in on it’s place.

It was then the battle against the Xehanorts began.

While Sora was still stressed beyond belief, every time an Organization member was defeated, Sora felt a weight lift off his shoulder. Slowly but surely, as they weeded out the Darknesses, Sora was sure that they would all be able to rise up and defeat Xehanort. Everything would work out.

He didn’t expect to lose Kairi though.

Sora had thought, since he had already lost her earlier, that he had promised himself that he wouldn’t let it happen again. But it did.

And she was gone.

Rage. Angry. Sora was angry. The anger burned hotter than the feeling of guilt and pressure that encased his heart. He channeled all that anger and burst of strength to fight Xehanort one last time.

Even as he watched Xehanort dishevel himself into what he truly was, an old man, Sora felt numb. He had won, but at what cost? Kairi was gone...no. She wasn’t. He could still bring her back, no matter what the cost. There were things he still needed to do, to fix everything. That was his duty.

Once everyone was safe, once Kairi was back, Sora was sure that this icky heavy and dark feeling would go away too. 

The defeat of Xehanort wasn’t the end of his journey, Sora was feeling that it would be the case, even before Xehanort’s defeat. What he wouldn’t give to spend just a second back home, on the islands with his two best friends? No...he had to bring Kairi home. Mickey and the others had warned him about the dangers, but Sora didn’t care. It was his duty after all, to keep everyone safe.

So before Sora had a proper chance to take a breather, he was off again. Searching, searching, trying to find the girl he cared so much about. He was thrust into the same old battle again, battling through his friends. But he was comforted by the fact that he knew that he had already won in that timeline. 

You can’t change destiny, he had thought to himself, as he walked down the path that would lead to his doom.

“It’s so pretty.” Kairi commented as she looked around at the Final World. 

For the first time after this whole fiasco, Sora felt liberated from the sense of duty. Kairi was safe, he would bring her and Chirithy home. Everything...was alright. Even though he wasn’t going to be here to enjoy it. 

The last fragments of his existence in this world, he spent with Kairi. Moments Sora knew he would treasure in the lonesome journey he was about to depart. When will he see his friends again…? Well, at least they were safe and happy back home, right? Yeah.

He woke up in a world unknown. While he felt an urgency to find his way through this strange realm and return home to the island, where he was certain Riku and Kairi were waiting for him, the immense sense of pressure was no longer suffocating his every step. Sure, he was still bone tired, but at least...he was still there?

Yozora.

That wasn’t a person Sora thought he would have to face in his lifetime. The star had told Sora about him. The sense of duty seemed to kick in even before Sora had a chance to realize. He wanted to help the star meet Yozora again. Even before he had a chance to find his bearings, Yozora had attacked him, forcing him to defend himself. 

The battle was long and hard. Sora tried his best, but Yozora was a powerful individual. As powerful as Sora thought he had become in the recent adventure, he was sure that he had met his match. He did his best. But...

He had to win. He couldn’t be defeated. He had to go home.

Before that icky feeling had a chance to come back, Sora was shocked to find himself struck down.

“...How could…?” He managed to say as he fell to his knees. 

He was so tired, so weak, so tired. Sora couldn’t fight anymore. All that pressure that he had felt before seemed to have converted into exhaustion. That finger that always haunted the back of his mind melted away into a tranquil, eerie, darkness. There was a buzzing feeling in his hands as he looked up at Yozora, who looked down at him with an unreadable expression.

“Sorry, but I don’t lose.” 

Suddenly the buzzing grew louder and Sora watched numbly as his hand seemed to crystallize. Then on, Sora realized he couldn’t feel _anything_ anymore. Physical feeling, his emotions, they all flitted away with his last few breaths. With the last of his strength, Sora stood up and looked up at the night sky. His eyes threatened to flutter shut, but the last modicum of strength kept them open for a bit more. The exhaustion, or whatever had taken over him, threatened to set in. In that split second of peace, Sora thought about his adventure and his friends.

Sora thought he would’ve been more upset at the idea that he may never see his friends again after this. He’d never see his home again, yet...it was twistedly peaceful. 

The sky. 

He wondered if Kairi and Riku were looking at the same sky. 

Sora couldn’t even find it himself to cry.

Before the hazy crystal feeling overtook him, Sora closed his eyes.

Sora could have never changed his fate. He could have never changed his destiny and the hobbling sense of duty that came with it. There were a lot of things he couldn’t choose or control. He had to walk the path laid out for him. 

...at least, he got a chance to choose when he would close his eyes for the last time.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, I chose the Bad End of Re:Mind as an ending to this fic because I feel like it fits the story better than the True Ending. I'm honestly really fascinated by the Bad Ending and as much as it pains me to see Sora lose, I really want to know what it's all about. 
> 
> I feel sorry for Sora. I didn't really pick it up at first playthrough, but playing it again, I realized that there are some moments were the poor boy seemed so stressed, like when Donald and Goofy poked fun at him and stuff. Even things like seeing Will Turner die in the Pirates world. He even confessed to Nameless Star and looked so sad/stressed during that time. Sora really had an incredible sense of duty and he pulled through all of it. But now he's lost and alone. He really needs a break.


End file.
